


Synthetic Smooch

by The_Epitome_of_Pretense



Series: Sole Sides [8]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Awkward Romance, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Kissing, Robot/Human Relationships, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, just so much fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:21:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23439865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Epitome_of_Pretense/pseuds/The_Epitome_of_Pretense
Summary: AU in which my Sole is a little more assertive and there’s none of that pesky Tragic Backstory to keep Nick from leaning into the moment 🤣
Relationships: Female Sole Survivor & Nick Valentine, Female Sole Survivor/Nick Valentine, Sole Survivor & Nick Valentine, Sole Survivor/Nick Valentine
Series: Sole Sides [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1258475
Comments: 11
Kudos: 52





	Synthetic Smooch

The green glow of the terminal shone on Sole’s face as she worked, highlighting her cheekbones. Nick tried to focus on the lines of code on the screen, but his eyes kept drifting to her. She had a way of furrowing her brow when she concentrated on something. He supposed everyone did, but there was something different about her expression. She pursed her lips to one side in a look that was all her own.

The jumble of letters on the screen resolved into neat lines of text.

“Ha!” Sole said. “Finally...”

Nick couldn’t help but smile.

"Is there any machine you can't charm?" He said.

"Just you, Mr. Valentine,” she murmured.

"Yeah, I—” he caught himself. "Wait. What?"

A furious blush overcame her features. She stared hard at the screen, as if she had done something wrong and was hesitant to face the consequences.

"I thought it was obvious that I was flirting," she said. "For a while I thought you were too, but you never made a move, so."

She gave a resigned shrug. Nick struggled to process the statement. Could he have heard that right? He couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. It felt presumptuous, in spite of all the evidence.

"So you've been...?" He said.

"Yes."

"This whole time?"

"Yes."

"With me?"

"Yes," she said, exasperated. She turned to look at him. "You're a detective, for pete's sake. Did it really never occur to you?"

He gave a frustrated gesture.

"Well—why would it? Look at me," he pointed to his face. "I'm not exactly Casanova."

"Who wants Casanova? I don't," she said, getting up from her chair.

"How the hell am I supposed to know what you want?"

She stepped closer.

"You could ask."

She was toe-to-toe with him now.

"Fine," he said. "What do you want?"

She grabbed him by the lapels.

"You."

Before he could guess what she meant to do, she pulled him close and kissed him.

It was an instant and an eon all a once. Between the heat and the shock and the way every mechanism in his body ran at full speed—it was more than he could process. He froze.

Sole drew back. He couldn't move. Her eyes met his, searching, hopeful. Still he stood rigid. Everything that unfolded seemed unreal, like what he saw was occurring on a movie screen. Her look grew dismayed, then resigned. He knew he should do something, but the surprise of what happened still overwhelmed him.

The sensation lingered on his lips.

"Sorry," she said. "That was uncalled for."

All he could do was blink. Then she began to walk away, and something in him snapped. She liked him; honest to God, she liked him. He couldn't believe it. Even so, his insides rattled with desperation to be near her again.

"Wait—”

He closed the space between them and grabbed her arm, careful not to hold too tight. She faced him. There was a question in her eyes. He hoped he knew the answer.

He cradled her face in his hands. She pressed one closer with her own, leaning into the contact. Her eyes fell shut. The gesture struck him with panic—with the realization that she really did want him to kiss her. What if he was no good at it anymore? What if the kiss they had just shared was a fluke, and he was horribly misreading the situation? What if everything he thought was wrong?

But what if it was right?

He edged closer, bringing his lips just near enough to feel the whisper of her breath. He half expected her to finish what he started, but she waited. His desire warred with his caution. It all but drove him insane. There was nothing for it.

He kissed her.

Even then he hesitated, he held back, he worried that if he went too far, every bit of his reserve would dissolve and he would be lost.

He pulled away. It was a pain that he could not describe, an agony that outstripped her previous departure because it was his own doing. He couldn't take it. He couldn't stand keeping her at arm's length, keeping his feelings at bay.

Her fingers wrinkled the fabric of his coat; he collapsed into her embrace. His arms wrapped tight around her middle, his movements awkward and unpracticed. There was a time, centuries ago, when he knew what to do, when he didn’t stumble through the motions, and he felt those years now more than ever. But her lips fitted to his with a perfection that set every circuit in his body alight. It was a sensation that was familiar and novel all at once, a memory distant as a dream. And he missed it. God, he missed it. He forgot how it felt to be so close to someone that you could hold them, that you could hear their taken breath. It was a feast after years of famine.

They parted, but only just. Nick struggled not to be swept away by how her waist pressed into his hands with every move. He collected himself.

“I, uh... I suppose I owe you a dinner out,” he said.

Sole regarded him a moment, then burst into laughter.

“If you like,” she said.

“What’s so funny?”

“Just you. Being so old fashioned, even after the end of the world.”

Something about that laugh dispelled the tension in his shoulders. He held her more comfortably as her shape became more familiar.

“If you haven’t figured out I’m a relic by now, I’m afraid I’ve got bad news for you,” he smirked.

“You’re lucky I like antiques,” she said with a smirk of her own, and kissed him again.

“I hope you don’t mind me taking so many liberties,” she added.

“I don’t need them. Take all you like.”

“I think I’ll take that dinner first.”

“We can make it back to Diamond City by nightfall if we hurry.”

“You’re on.”

They had already reached the city when they realized that they had forgotten to get the information they needed from the old computer terminal.


End file.
